CONTACT CAROLINE
facebook
rss
tumblr
twitter
goodreads
youtube

  • Home
  • Write Away Blog
  • Books
    • Books
    • Trompe l’Oeil
    • Heart Land
    • Gothic Spring
    • Ballet Noir
    • Book Excerpts
  • Video Interviews
  • Press
    • News
    • Print Interviews
    • Plays
    • Ballet Noir in the Press
    • Trompe l’Oeil In The Press
    • Gothic Spring In The Press
    • Heart Land Reviews
  • Contact
  • About
  • Resources
    • Writer Resources
    • Favorite Blogs
    • Favorite Artists



Ocasio-Cortez: A Star Is Born

Feb 25, 2019
by Caroline Miller
Al Franken, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Articles of Impeachment, Bill Clinton, high crimes and misdemeanors, Richard Nixon
0 Comment

Courtesy of vox.com

 No doubt about it, a star is born.  Recently, during a Congressional hearing, Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez “played a game,” with leaders of agencies that serve as government watchdogs.  Common Cause was among them.  The topic was about elected officials and the number of improper activities they can perform without suffering consequences.  She asked the questions and the participants made  “yes” or “no” replies.  Once the entertainment was over, Ocasio-Cortez sat back, looking satisfied.  She had proven to her audience  there is little oversight for outrageous conduct among her peers. 

After the tape aired, people on my Facebook page heaped Ocasio-Cortez with praise: “courageous,” “sharp,” ‘uncompromising.” Anyone who suspected the government of wrong-doing probably saw the clip as “refreshing,” too.

But was the exercise enlightening?  After two years at “Trump University,” was anyone, besides those awaiting The Rapture, surprised by the answers they heard?  Had all memory been erased from the public’s mind about the scandals that occurred in the Richard Nixon and Ronald Raegan years? Frankly, I consider Trump’s current term as merely a refresher course.  Yes, corruption exists in our government.  And, yes, oversight is appalling.  Our history is replete with lessons.

Such facts led me to wonder if  the Congresswoman had any solutions to offer?  I’d heard none during the charade.  What I sensed, instead, was an invitation for citizens to feel hopeless.  Our government was full of bad actors against whom working men and women had no  defense.

I wondered if Al Franken would agree. 

Ocasio-Cortez’s theater is guilty of the sin of omission.  “We the People” have every reason to hope.  The power of impeachment in The U. S. Constitution gives Congress almost limitless authority to police unethical and illegal conduct and to remove government officials who have betrayed their office.  All that’s required is  a guilty verdict for acts of “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”  The absence of further definition is no impediment.  Rather, it  allows each Congress to decide what the words mean.   In the cases of Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, some might see a wide disparity.

Nonetheless, no one should believe our leaders lack sufficient means to police its own.  Our  Constitution is a greater authority than a ticky-tacky list of “does  and don’ts.”   What may be lacking is the will to employ it.  I don’t know. But the power exists.

What  Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez did, on the day of the public hearing, was to establish her credentials as a game player. But can she do more?  Can she reach across the aisle to build coalitions large enough to pass laws? 

 

Social Share

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

*
*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Portland, Oregon author Caroline Miller had distinguished careers as an educator, union president, elected official and artist/advocate.

Her play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, was performed at the Post5 Theatre, Portland, OR, January/February 2015

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens.  She also published the story Gustav Pavel,  a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.

Caroline has published four novels

  • Ballet Noir
  • Trompe l’Oeil
  • Gothic Spring
  • Heart Land

Subscribe to Caroline’s Blog


 

Archives

Categories

YouTube-logo-inline2 To access and subscribe to my videos on YouTube, Click Here and click the Subscribe button.

Banner art “The Receptive” by Charlie White of Charlie White Studio

Web Admin: ThinPATH Systems, Inc
support@tp-sys.com

Subscribe to Caroline's Blog


 

Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Sitemap | Privacy Notice

AUDIO & VIDEO VAULT

View archives of Caroline’s audio and videos interviews.


Copyright © Books by Caroline Miller
Posting....